Clean uninstall and reinstall of Reckon Accounts Business

Legacy KB ID: 331

Question

How do I perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of Reckon Accounts Business (previously QuickBooks)

Answer

It is sometimes necessary to perform a clean uninstall and install to remove residual Reckon Accounts Business installation files and folders left behind by Microsoft Add or Remove Programs. This is most often required when the Reckon Accounts Business function is damaged or when reinstalling Reckon Accounts Business does not correct an issue.

Caution: Performing a clean install of Reckon Accounts requires that you also reinstall any other Reckon and Intuit software that share the same installation folder.


It is also advisable to back up your company file to a safe location to prevent it from being accidentally deleted or overwritten. If you are unable to make a backup through Reckon Accounts Business you should use Windows' Copy/Paste command to copy your company files (*.QBW extensions only).

Please be sure to have your Reckon Accounts Business downloads or installation disk , services packs and patches, installation keycode and license key handy before reinstalling Accounts Business. 

Detailed Instructions

In this guide the letters nnnn refers to the name of your edition and yyyy refers to your year version of Reckon Accounts Business. 

1. Uninstall Accounts Business

Windows 10 & 8

  1. Press the Windows+X keys
  2. Select Programs and Features
  3. Highlight Reckon Accounts nnnn yyyy and click Uninstall;
  4. Follow the instructions to uninstall Reckon Accounts

Windows  7 & Vista:

  1. Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features;
  2. Highlight Reckon Accounts nnnn yyyy and click Uninstall;
  3. Follow the instructions to uninstall Reckon Accounts.

Microsoft Windows XP:

  1. Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs
  2. Highlight Reckon Accounts nnnn yyyy in the list of programs and click Uninstall;
  3. Follow the instructions to remove Reckon Accounts. 


Note, if you cannot remove Reckon Accounts using the normal method, please refer to https://kb.reckon.com.au/issue_view.asp?ID=3753 and use the Microsoft tool to uninstall before moving to step 2. 

2. Manually remove the following Reckon Accounts installation folders.

Note: Removing the entire Intuit folder will also remove all of the sub folders that are contained within it. Your installation folders may appear differently depending on the version or versions of Accounts Business installed on your computer. 


Windows 10, 8, 7 & Vista:

  • C:\Program Data\Intuit *
  • C:\Program Data\Common Files\Intuit *
  • C:\Users\<current user>\AppData\Local\Intuit *
  • C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Intuit
  • C:\Program Files\Intuit
  • C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit 


Windows XP:

  • C:\Program Files\Intuit
  • C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit
  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Intuit *
  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Common Files\Intuit *
  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents (Shared Documents)\Intuit 


*If the Application Data or Program Data folder are not visible:

Windows 10 & 8

  1. Windows+X Keys > File Explorer
  2. View > Options> Change folder and search options > View
  3. Click Show hidden files and folders
  4. Click OK. 


Windows 7 & Vista:

  1. Click the Start button and select Computer
  2. In the upper left, click the Organize button
  3. Select Folder and Search Options
  4. Click the View tab
  5. Click Show hidden files and folders
  6. Click OK. 

Windows XP:

  1. Right-click on the Start button and select Explore
  2. Select the Tools menu and then select Folder Options
  3. Click the View tab, and then under Advanced Settings, select the Show hidden files and folders checkbox
  4. Click OK. 

3. Remove Accounts Business (QuickBooks, Intuit) Registry keys

Care:  This step requires you to enter the Windows Registry.  Changes to the Registry effect the behaviour of your computer.  Incorrect changes may prevent your computer from running properly.  If you are not confident in making changes to your Registry please refer to your IT professional. 

Before proceeding, make a backup of your Registry:

  1. Open the Registry Editor:
    1. Windows 10 & 8: type regedit in the Search box and select regedit (Run command) from the list of options
    2. Windows 7 & Vista: Start button > type regedit into the search box > Enter;
    3. Windows XP: Start button > Run > type regedt32 > Enter;

If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

  1. On the top menu line, click on File >Export
  2. Select a location to save the file and in the File Name box enter a name;
  3. In the Export Range section, click on All;
  4. Click Save. 


Delete the Intuit keys

  1. In the left hand pane, click on  HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE
  2. Right click the Intuit folder and select Delete > Yes.
  3. In the left hand pane, click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software
    1. 32bit systems:  Right click the Intuit folder and select Delete > Yes
    2. 64bit systems;  click on Wow6432Node then right click the Intuit folder and select Delete > Yes
  4. Close the Registry Editor Window


Install Accounts Business in Selective Startup Mode

  1. Close all programs;
  2. Login to your PC as the built-in Administrator;
  3. Start > type: msconfig > Enter;
    Windows XP users:  Start > Run > type: msconfig > Enter;
  4. Click on the Services tab;
  5. Tick the box Hide all Microsoft services;
  6. Click Disable all >OK;
  7. Click Restart to reboot your computer;
  8. Install Reckon Accounts Business;
  9. Activate Reckon Accounts Business;
  10. Apply any services packs and patches;
  11. Revert to Normal Mode:
    1. Start > type: msconfig > Enter;
      Windows XP users:  Start > Run > type: msconfig > Enter
    2. Click on Normal Setup> OK;
    3. Click Restart to reboot your computer.   


Need more help?

Ask the Reckon Community at: https://community.reckon.com/reckon.




How did we do?

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